


After Effects

by Fandom_Trash98



Category: RWBY
Genre: Also make sure to check out the linked fanfic, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arkos kinda happens, Bumblebee - Freeform, But not in a way that will make shippers happy, Canon Compliant up to the end of Volume 4, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Graphic Description, Hurt/Comfort, It's heavy but it's good, Mental Health Issues, Physical Disability, Renora, Things are a mess, This is a heavy one, Whiterose
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:07:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandom_Trash98/pseuds/Fandom_Trash98
Summary: Eight years after the Fall of Beacon, five years after the Fall of Haven and the end of Salem, three years after the successful recapture of Haven Academy’s grounds, Team RWBY are found at the front of the effort to retake Vale and revive Beacon. Hunters had made significant progress, but if it was easy to push back against the hundreds of thousands of Grimm that had claimed the kingdom Vale would never have fallen. That being said, in the aftermath of the War, the Grimm are not alone when instigating difficulty.Inspired by Etheriell’s Picking Up The Pieces: http://archiveofourown.org/works/5899855/chapters/13600609(By which I mean I read this and loved the idea of angst after the War, while they’re trying to reclaim what was lost. There’s not much else similar, but I got the idea of exploring stuff under the pretence of reclamation from this fic so it deserves acknowledging. Plus this fic is amazing and you should all go and read it.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Picking Up The Pieces](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5899855) by [Etheriell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etheriell/pseuds/Etheriell). 



> This isn't a new Beacon Academy chapter, I know. But I really wanted to write this one. I meant to fix the chapter I'd already written for BA but I couldn't stop thinking about this. I really want to make this into a proper long one. I have about 15 chapters planned out so far. This one will have a more obvious structure/storyline than Beacon Academy does as there are actual conflicts with this one. First chapter is quite short, but the ones after it will be much longer I promise. Enjoy!

_Red hot fire surged all around, licking skin tauntingly, as two shocking silver orbs met a scorching amber. Black tar lay below, a void that the mind couldn’t process as eyes took in their surroundings. The woman stood before them had haunted the dreams of the owner long before this day and now she haunted their waking moments. Despite the flames, a chill worked its way down a back as eyes detected the unbridled fury directed their way. Arms that were bound strained uselessly against that which held them as the woman stepped closer, a sick, sadistic grin spread across her face. Off to the side stood green, grey and red, as well as several white. Guards. A single bead of sweat rolled down from a brow, falling alongside a thick scarlet that oozed from a deep slice, and a silent bobbing of a throat revealed the fear hidden by a blank expression. ‘Can’t show them I’m scared now’ was the thought, though it was less simple in practise as a battered body felt the chair pushed against it as well as so much more. Acrid smoke clung to the woman, consuming the senses as she leant over the bound. The woman hadn’t spoken a word throughout this ordeal, staring straight into silver, past them, into the soul behind, but now a harsh sound scratched the inside of an ear drum._

_“Eye for an eye, Little Red.”_

_The eyes widened, then one went black as a scream wrenched free of a throat and a burning unlike any felt before spread from an empty socket. The words of the woman swam round and round in a head before darkness took pity on the bound._

_Eye for an eye. Eye for an eye. Eye for an eye._

Ruby Rose sat up with a jolt, lungs gasping for air, a scream ready on the tip of her tongue as she registered the cool hands holding firmly to her shoulders. Silver orbs turned and locked on a sharp, icy blue. A second passed as her mind caught up, and Ruby relaxed slightly in Weiss’ grip. An apology was muttered, which earned a resolute shake of Weiss’ head. 

“You didn’t wake me. I was already up. You were muttering in your sleep.” The whispered answers to the unasked questions did little to ease the red-head. A shaking hand rose to rub the crease between her eyebrows. Slowly, the hands were removed from Ruby’s shoulders, folded neatly onto a lap covered by a light-blue nightgown and half of a blanket. 

“Was… was it about Cinder again?”

A sigh, heavy and filled with immeasurable sorrow, sounded as a head nodded mutely. Absentmindedly, Ruby began to rub at her left eye socket, something which didn’t go unnoticed. Weiss carefully grasped Ruby’s hand and held it in her own.

“Do you want to talk about it?” A pause. “Or we could go for a walk?”

“A walk would be nice.” The voice was strained and rough, a combination of the lack of use throughout the night and the emotional turmoil. 

Nodding, Weiss moved off to the side, returning shortly with a metal object. Silently, she attached the bionic to Ruby’s right leg, it fitting snugly just below the knee joint. The next few moments were spent executing the calibration procedures that must be completed after every removal and addition lest the device fail its owner. With that sorted, the two women rose from the bed, each grabbing a robe and their weapons with a practised ease. Silently, so not to wake the other occupants of the room, they opened the door and slipped through, making their way through the makeshift house and out onto the streets. The worn and battered buildings did not deter the women, nor persuade them to return to their beds, as they strolled side by side out on the streets. Both women were appropriately alert, though their relaxed gait said nothing of the sort, the only hint being the slight tension by a set of shoulders hidden by long, alabaster locks, or the flicking of two silver eyes, one able to see much clearer in the near-dark than the other. 

They made their way to a favourite spot, a fountain that had survived the damage that befell the rest of the area, though just barely. The once beautiful white stone structure that portrayed an angel mid-flight now stood broken and greyed, the upper half of the body missing save one solitary wing. Still, while the decoration was broken the fountain still worked, providing clean, fresh water. It was one of the reasons this area had been chosen as the starting point. Two women sat on the edge, both focused on different things. While silver eyes traced the patterns in the stars above, ice-blue eyes could only focus on the woman before them. The two remained silent in their activities for some while. Weiss scoured every inch of her partner, noting the dulled version of a brilliant silver that could never quite match the original. Only those who truly looked could tell the difference between the shades of Ruby Rose’s left and right eyes, though most knew the story anyway. Blue fell down to the bionic and Weiss swallowed heavily before turning her attentions to the stars as well. She hated everything that happened. 

“So why were you already awake?”

Weiss looked back to find those silver pools staring right at her. Had this been eight years prior, she might have given some snarky comment about it not being anyone’s business but her own, or perhaps she would have brushed it off with a wave of her hand and an icy glare. Instead she exhaled slowly and gestured vaguely at her chest. 

“Phantom pains.”

Ruby nodded in understanding, subconsciously rubbing the part of her leg just before it stopped being leg. They fell back into an easy silence once more, neither wanting to probe the other for questions. Minutes passed, or maybe it was hours as neither could be sure, before Ruby suggested they head back and try to get some more rest. Neither wanted to be sleep deprived for tomorrow. Weiss rose and held her hand out to Ruby, who took it silently and neglected to drop it as they ambled back to their house. As they walked up the stairs and drew closer to their room they could hear some commotion. Quirking a brow at her partner trailing behind her, Weiss turned to the noise and sped up slightly. The ex-heiress all but threw the door open and was met with the sight of a very panicked Yang Xiao Long pacing and pulling at her golden locks and slightly calmer, but still clearly worried Blake Belladona picking up her weapon. 

Both parties froze, looking at one another, Ruby and Weiss staring with confusion as Yang and Blake stared back with a mix of relief and anger on their faces. 

“Um…” Ruby started, the sound being all that was needed to break the atmosphere. Yang launched herself at her sister and Weiss, scooping them up into a bone-breaking hug, as Blake moved towards them and hugged them from behind, albeit much gentler. A low growl escaped the cat faunus as Yang formed a deep scowl.

“Don’t you two ever do that again, you hear? Ever. Do you know how we feel waking up to find both of your beds empty? With no note?” Yang’s low grumble was emphasised with another growl from Blake, who squeezed slightly tighter and buried her head into Weiss’ back, her ear tickling the woman’s neck slightly. 

“S-Sorry Yang, we just went for a walk, we couldn’t sleep. I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.” Ruby stuttered, looking contrite. Yang released a long breath, her hold loosening slightly as she shook her head.

“It’s fine, Rubes. Just. Let’s just go to bed, yeah?” Ruby nodded her head and Yang released both her and Weiss, Blake chancing one final squeeze before stepping back herself. The four made their way back to bed, Ruby protesting removing her prosthetic alongside Yang, who had put hers on while preparing to search for her missing teammates. With both sisters protesting, Weiss and Blake simply rolled their eyes and gave in. There were only a few more hours until day broke, so it _was_ silly to run through the process of removing the prosthetics again for them to be attached so soon. Weiss turned to look at Ruby; they could see each other clearly from their beds, which were pushed together to make room for the other two beds in such a small room. Ruby was already asleep again, breathing deep and slow, and seeing this encouraged Weiss. Her eyes fell shut and her breathing evened out as one final thought graced her. 

They had a _lot_ to do this next month.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, so I think I finally figured out this "sticking to a schedule" thing, maybe, possibly? I don't know, but here's a chapter for this that should have been put out at least a week ago. It's actually quite a long chapter for me at a fun 4k words! Enjoy!

Sunlight peered through the tattered and stained curtains that covered most of the cracked window, prodding at the four huntresses in an effort to pull them into consciousness. It had barely been four hours since they had fallen asleep again, however the amount of sleep attained before Ruby and Weiss’ exertions was sufficient enough that the four were merely groggy, rather than tired, as they woke. Breakfast was a quiet affair, the women much too focused on their mental schedules and Ren and Nora much to dismayed to offer up conversation. Neither of the remaining members of Team JNPR were happy with the idea that Team RWBY would be leaving for the month, however they knew that it was necessary. Instead of attempting terse conversation that would have a heavy undercurrent of sadness, they tried to offer what meagre comforts they had; Ren had whipped up a large pile of pancakes for them, and Nora was kind enough to only take four. Once the pancakes were eaten and pots of tea and coffee had been brewed, Team RWBY briefly reviewed the day’s plan. The checklist was simple: Ruby and Yang needed to have their bionic parts assessed, Weiss and Blake needed to ensure they were fully supplied, and then they all needed to meet with Glynda and Winter to be briefed on the mission and cleared to go. Each of them had a priority task and then after the briefing it was simply a case of heading out to the boarder to start the mission. So, having downed copious cups of caffeinated liquid gold, the four decided it was time to start their day. All of them pretended not to notice the sniffles and glazed eyes as they hugged Nora, nor did they acknowledge Ren’s slightly trembling jaw as they bid him farewell. 

Once outside the building, Yang and Ruby separated from their partners and made their way over to where Team CFVY, Sun and Scarlet lived. After the Fall of Mistral it was quickly discovered that Velvet’s choice in weapon lead her to being very well versed in all sorts of technology, so Yang and Ruby often went to her to have their bionics checked over. While the sisters were both more than capable of tending to them themselves, both agreed that it was better to get another opinion to ensure their mechanical limbs were in nothing but pristine condition. After their mission officially started, Yang and Ruby would no longer be removing their limbs to sleep for safety reasons, nor would they be able to access any materials should they require repair, so it was necessary to ensure that keeping them on would not put them at risk and they wouldn’t fall apart under slight stress. Channelling their aura through the bionics wore them down so it was recommended that the women didn’t use them when it wasn’t necessary, such as when sleeping or relaxing in the safe zone, and they complied whenever possible. The only exception to this was Ruby’s fake left eye; she refused to take that out most of the time, only doing so for maintenance checks, much to the chagrin of her teammates. 

As they approached their friend’s decayed residence in comfortable silence they witnessed Sun ambling out of the battered front door. He stopped short when he saw them, offering up a subdued smile and a half wave, his tail hanging limply as it had been for a while. Upon closer inspection, the sisters noticed the red tint to his eyes and the slightly damp patches on his cheeks. Wordlessly, upon approaching Yang placed her left hand on his shoulder and gave a solitary squeeze, while Ruby reached forward to take up his hands in hers. He offered up a watery smile for their efforts, then removed himself from their holds as gentle as possible and started to walk away. Pausing briefly, he half-turned back towards them.

“Don’t you guys go getting yourselves killed out there, you hear? If you do I’ll kick your arses from here to Menagerie.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and continued to walk away. Ruby and Yang looked after him for a moment, before shrugging it off and continuing on. 

They entered the run down building without so much as a greeting, walking straight into what was once a living room, but now resembled a combination of a workshop and hospital room, with some remnants of the old room still present. Velvet was seated behind a metal workshop table that could also double up as a surgical table, should the need arise. Today, however, it was home to various schematics and tools, all in preparation for assessing Ruby and Yang’s bionics. Velvet’s ears turned towards the two women before her head, as she bid them good morning and motioned for them to sit on one of the two battered leather couches that had been pushed up haphazardly against either side of the room. Naturally, they sat on the couch closest to the workbench. Velvet then stood and removed Yang’s arm. Yang always went first; her arm was older than Ruby’s leg or eye, so if there were any problems it would take slightly more time to fix them. Futilely, the rest of Team RWBY had tried to convince her to upgrade her arm to some of the newer technology that Ruby sported, but Yang had declined every time the matter was brought up. When pushed for answers she had calmly explained that she had adjusted to the arm she had and felt no need to change it unless absolutely necessary. The rest of the team let it drop as Yang’s crimson gaze belied the almost passive way she spoke; it wasn’t as if there was a problem with the arm anyway. 

“This is really good, Yang. It’s really clean and well oiled, and there’s virtually no wearing in the joints; you’ve taken care of this well.” 

With a nod, Yang silently took back her arm and began to attach it again. Velvet hadn’t told her anything she didn’t already know, Yang thought to herself as she watched the rabbit faunus move around her towards her sister and take her sister’s leg. She began the calibration procedure as she watched Velvet poke around at the mechanisms for Ruby’s bionic. After a few moments she had finished and, with nothing else to do, she began to subtly watch her sister. The months after Ruby lost her leg were some of the worst months of Yang’s life, watching her sister wallow in guilt, shame, fear and a whole host of other dark emotions. A small, barely noticeable shudder worked its way through Yang as she recalled, with startling clarity, the time she had to talk Ruby back from the metaphorical edge after she walked in on her sister trying to drown herself in alcohol and various medications, tears streaming alongside blood as her sister’s guilt had pushed her to try to do the unthinkable. She released a shaky breath and relaxed the hand that had clenched, again glancing over at her sister. Sometimes, when she thought about the leg too much, Ruby could get dragged back under and Yang wanted to be able to catch the signs and put a stop to it as soon as possible. 

“You’ve been making modifications again, haven’t you Ruby?” The tone was a fond mix of exasperation and amusement. “You know if you keep changing the specs you make it a hundred times more difficult to make sure everything is working properly.” Ruby just shrugged and offered up a crooked smile.

“What’s the point of having mecha-limbs if you can’t make them cool?” Velvet huffed out a laugh.

“Well, your… _additions_ aside, your leg is in perfect working order, very little wear, although it looks like you’ve been sleeping in it a few times or something like that. There’s more wear than in Yang’s arm anyway, though I suppose that could be to do with the fact that it’s a leg, so it bears more weight for more time… Hmm. Well, all in all it’s a fine leg, I can clear it. Now, let’s take a look at that eye so you can be on your way.”

Ruby immediately slumped, offering up a weak “maybe we can forget about checking my eye?” which was met with two incredulous stares. Heaving a deep sigh, Ruby carefully detached her eye from the discreet metal connections at the back of the socket, fighting the wave of nausea she felt as she lost vision from her left socket. Velvet presented a beaker with a sharp smelling, clear liquid in it and Ruby dropped her eye inside it, before taking back her bionic leg. With that done, Velvet made her way back over to the workbench, pulled out a pair of latex gloves and began to assess the eye. This time, Yang didn’t bother hiding her concerned gaze from Ruby, watching as her sister twisted her fingers tight around the metal limb she held. Slowly, she brought her metallic hand to rest on Ruby’s shoulder, waiting to see if the comfort would be accepted. It was. 

What followed were a series of noises from Velvet, each various stages of disappointment and exasperation translated into a non-verbal lecture that caused Ruby to shrink in further on herself and slightly away from Yang’s grip. She knew what was coming and she didn’t like it one bit; the reprimand from Velvet she was about to get would set her sister off and she didn’t want to have to deal with that today. Still, it wasn’t like she could go anywhere to avoid it, not only had she yet to start to reattach her leg, but she would be damned if she went anywhere without her eye. Instead she simply braced herself for the unavoidable, withdrawing away from Yang completely and completely missing the small flicker of worry that rippled across her sister’s face. A tut and sigh from Velvet dragged the attention of the sisters back to her, both quickly noting the stern look on the faunus’ face with varying degrees of trepidation. Yang bit back a “What’s up, doc?” joke, remembering how last time she’d tried to relieve some tension that way she’d nearly been decapitated by a _very_ angry, protective Coco Adel. 

“Ruby.” It was only one word, but it was firm and admonishing enough to cause the woman in question to flinch a little. “You haven’t been following the instructions for this eye, have you?” The meek, sheepish look Ruby shot her way was enough of an answer to that question and Velvet found herself heaving another sigh.

“Ruby, those instructions are given to you for a reason. You can’t keep the eye in all of the time, or you’ll break it. As it stands, I can clear the eye for this mission, however not without putting in a note that it will have to be replaced upon your return. It’s completely worn, and from the looks of it, it will only last about three more months of constant use before it starts to break down. You only got this one a year ago, it should have another year of use! I know this one was a temporary model until the custom one is finished, and you will be able to use the custom all the time, but just because it’s temporary doesn’t mean you don’t have to take care of it! I’ll clear it for this time, but when you get back we’re going to have to refurbish it. I know you don’t like being without it, I understand that, but until the custom is done you’ll have to.” Velvet paused with a sigh, looking over the woman that now looked like a child caught breaking rules. “Look, I’m not trying to browbeat you, I just… You need to be patient and wait for the custom that will be able to handle constant use. The last thing I want is for the eye to give out while you actually need it, just because you wouldn’t take it out when you could.”

Ruby gave a silent nod, eye fixed on the ground, knuckles white due to the force of her hold on her leg. Velvet began to clean of the eye, readying it for Ruby to reattach, so Ruby decided this would be a good time to reattach her leg. Everyone in the room pretended not to notice how the temperature had hitched up a little at Velvet’s words, nor how Yang seemed a little brighter somehow. Silently, Ruby ran through the calibration procedures and a few moments later, once she had finished, Velvet moved from the side she had waited at and presented Ruby her eye. Again, Ruby went through the motions in silence, attaching and recalibrating her bionic eye as quickly as possible, breathing a slight sigh of relief as her vision came back and the tight grip around her stomach loosened considerably. Both huntresses thanked Velvet as they left, who made no comment about the strain in their voices. Leaving the building behind, they only got a few feet before Yang spoke up.

“We warned you about that y’know.”

It was a simple sentence, nothing but slight worry and irritation colouring the words, but that didn’t matter. Ruby was still on edge, just as she was after every time her eye had to be removed, and said simple sentence was too much for her paper-thin patience. She rounded on Yang so quickly it was almost as if she’d used her semblance.

“My business is my own! It doesn’t affect _you_. What do you care if my eye’s a little rusty!? I’m still cleared to go, aren’t I? I’m not just a little kid anymore, Yang! I can make my own decisions and I don’t need you babying me!” Her voice had started out moderately loud and had crescendoed to an all-out scream at the end; both her voice and her body trembled with rage as Yang stood, slack-jawed and staring at her sister. Before Yang could recover, Ruby started again.

“All you guys do is act like I’m gonna break all the time! Weiss is the only one who doesn’t treat me like a little kid, you and Blake just keep smothering me! For Oum’s sake, Yang! I’m twenty three, I’m hardly that fifteen year old you had to look after at Beacon anymore! Neither of us are kids, we went through a bloody war! I know what I’m doing, I’m the team leader, I’m the one who plans the missions and the schedules, me! You’re not my mother, so stop acting like you are!” 

This time Yang was faster to recover.

“If you’re so adamant you’re not a kid then why do you keep being childish!? You say you’re the leader, you know what you’re doing, but then you do stupid shit like this! How can you complain about me treating you like a little kid when you’re acting like one!? I know none of us are the same as at Beacon, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my sister, regardless of everything that happened! It doesn’t change a damn thing for me, you’re always gonna be my baby sis Rubes.” Her voice cracked and took a sombre turn, before her eyes flashed red and her anger returned once more. “And another thing! I may not be your mother, but I sure as hell raised you! We’re closer than most sister’s because of that and it kills me to know you’re doing this! Do you know how terrified I was when we found you that night? You were bleeding everywhere and you wouldn’t wake up Ruby! I hate that you have to have that eye too, but we can’t change what happened and it doesn’t give you an excuse to not look after yourself properly! And don’t argue with me, we both know it’s not just the eye you’re overworking. You want me to stop treating you like a kid? Take your head out of your arse and start acting like an adult then!”

Over the course of Yang’s rant, both girls had moved closer to one another and were now staring each other down, fists clenched. Yang was completely enflamed and Ruby was trembling with rage as she ground her teeth, staring slightly up at Yang. Some small part of her mind cursed her body for not providing her with enough height to surpass Yang, as her eyes being level with her sister’s nose was not as intimidating as she would wish. She opened her mouth to retort once more, to try to put her sister in her place, when two angry yells of “Hey!” sounded behind her. Yang’s eyes darted to the sound, looking over her shoulder, and Yang paled slightly, the intensity of her heat slowly dropping as she looked alarmed. Ruby looked over her shoulder and found all rage being replaced with fear as she saw the very angry Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee marching over to them.

“Are you two trying to attract every Grimm in a ten kilometre radius!? What the hell was that all about anyway?” 

Weiss was seething. She and Blake had decided to forgo the plan to rendezvous at Mission Headquarters, instead planning to meet up with their partners. Their task, to grab and check the supplies, always took considerably less time than the bionics checks and usually they would just wait with Glynda and Winter for the sisters to be done. After last night, however, neither girl wanted to be apart from their respective partners for various similar and differing reasons. They didn’t expect to be met with the screaming match the two were engaged in, finding the fact the two looked ready to lay into each other particularly disconcerting. Weiss’ fists were clenched and her eyes were narrowed as she looked over the sisters. Blake was in a similar state of irritation, her ear lying flat against her head as she too took in the scene, arms wrapped tight around her mid-section. They came to rest a foot or so away from Ruby and Yang, Weiss’ foot tapping impatiently against the broken, cracked concrete.

“Well?”

It was spoken like a question, but was obviously a demand. Yang was the first to recover, her anger from before manifesting into irritation.

“Our great and fearless leader hasn’t been taking care of her eye properly. I was simply trying to talk some sense into her.” Frustration morphed into shock on Weiss and Blake’s faces as they turned to their leader, who was pointedly avoiding their gazes, frowning at the ground. Blake opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Ruby.

“Look, Weiss is right, we’re gonna draw in the Grimm. We’re too close to the safety boundary for this conversation and we need to check in with Goodwitch really soon anyway. We can talk about this later.”

She didn’t wait for the response, knowing that if she did they wouldn’t let the conversation drop, so instead she marched off, not once looking back at her team. They didn’t understand and she wouldn’t be able to make them understand, so there was no point in wasting the energy. The remainder of her team shared a concerned glance before setting off after her, only pausing in their pursuit when Yang snatched the supply bags from them while disregarding their protests. They caught up with Ruby outside of Mission Headquarters, a battered building in the centre of the safe zone, or at least near centre; the safe zone expanded in different directions at different paces, so there really was no circular radius. Once affirming her team were with her, she led them into the main briefing room.

Stood around a large map of Vale were Glynda Goodwitch and Winter Schnee, discussing something in hushed voices. Winter noticed their entry first, straightening up and walking directly to Weiss. Ruby, Blake and Yang looked at Goodwitch expectantly, while Winter enveloped Weiss in a tight hug that was quickly reciprocated. No one thought much of that anymore, not after what happened at Schnee Manor all those years ago, so it was ignored as the rest of Team RWBY moved to look at what Goodwitch was pointing at on the map. Ruby stopped short when she got close enough to make out the landmark. Beacon. She swallowed hard. Team RWBY were the team tasked with clearing out the section of Vale that pointed towards the old Huntsman academy, mostly because the population of Grimm was the highest there due to the still frozen wyvern and they were the most skilled team working as part of the Mission. Still, they’d never actually gotten anywhere near Beacon, most of their missions being close enough to see the frozen Grimm and tower, but not actually be anywhere near it. Ruby repressed a shudder at the thought of stepping back on those grounds, back to the place where she wasn’t quick enough twice. Unconsciously, her fists tightened as she realised that this was the reason this mission was double the length of the others. To go on a month-long mission _within_ Vale was unheard of mainly due to Goodwitch not wanting a team to be out that long with no suitable way to contact them; a week or perhaps two were the standard mission lengths, depending on the area you were assigned to and how much of that area was scheduled for cleaning. ‘You can’t back out now, Ruby’ she thought as she sucked in a breath, ‘you agreed to all of this and you agreed to help. If you can’t do it for yourself then… then do it for the people you’ve lost and the people you want to keep here.’ The breath was let out, long and shuddering, as she steeled her nerves and moved in close to the map. She ignored the concerned glances from her teammates, not at all interested in their coddling at this time. Right now it was time to be a leader. With a nod to Goodwitch, discussions about the mission began. They knew the premise, but clearly they were lacking details.

What followed was two and a half hours of gruelling planning, preparations, bargaining and arguing before the mission’s parameters were established. Goodwitch wasn’t completely happy and neither was Ruby, but they had both made compromises and knew they couldn’t push for more. Goodwitch was still particularly miffed that Ruby had outright refused to enter Beacon’s grounds, stating that by the time they got that far they would probably need to come back to resupply. When Winter and the rest of Team RWBY stood with Ruby, Goodwitch had relented. It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand the real reason Ruby didn’t want them to go on the grounds, but they needed to eventually if they were ever to truly reclaim Vale. Still, even she knew that would require more than one team and for the teams to be fully rested, something that wouldn’t happen if Team RWBY had to fight to get there. The mission’s objectives were simple; there was about an acre of ground between the outer reaches of the safe zone and the base of the mountain that Beacon resided upon. Team RWBY was to clear that stretch of land of Grimm and set up deterrents to keep it clear of Grimm. This should take no more than a month, after which the women would report back, be given two weeks of assigned rest and then be rallied again alongside other teams to make a start at clearing Beacon. 

Goodwitch hands them each a smaller version of the large map of Vale with all of the key landmarks and the area they’re clearing marked. She also passes them each a small walky-talky like communications device. They’re short-ranged and crappy quality, but with the CCT still down there was nothing much that could be done about that; no-one thought they would be of any actual use, but they accepted the false comfort regardless. After determining that there was nothing else left to discuss, Team RWBY took their leave, pausing only for Winter to give Weiss another strong hug and a firm ‘be safe’, and made their way over to the start of the clearance zone. Sucking in a deep breath and stealing her nerves, she turned to her team.

“Okay. We have a pretty clear-cut mission. Clear the area of Grimm, report back in a month. The sooner we start the sooner we can finish. Does everyone have everything?” Three succinct nods. “Good… Then let’s get started.”

And with that, Team RWBY stepped over the boundary of the safety zone with no clue about the chaos the next month would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, what do you think? I'm trying to build character dynamics into this at the moment, it's all premise setting stuff, but I hope that's okay? The next chapter is gonna focus on that too I reckon, although you'll have to wait for that because the next thing I'm gonna upload (aside from Red and White Osiria and maybe Sick Days cause that one is a 'write as the inspiration strikes' kinda deal) is a Beacon Academy chapter. I hoped you enjoyed, please leave a comment and/or a kudos if you did! Also go send me prompts on my tumblr, fandom-trash98.tumblr.com/ask, if you want. See you next time! Au revoir!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations! I'm back with this story _finally_. Please enjoy!
> 
> (Also quick note, I took some liberties with the canon plot - up to the end of V4 - as the timelines really aren't clear, so for the sake of this fic, Weiss leaves her family home about a year or so after Beacon falls)

_**7 Years Previous** _

“Well she has to be somewhere! She can’t have just vanished, Klein!”

“Of course, Master Schnee. But, I am unable to find her. Her scroll is in her room, but her weapon and some of her other belongings are missing. I believe she may have run away, Sir; the maids say she stopped opening her door for meals around three days ago.”

“Well- I- This is ridiculous! You will find my daughter, or you will lose your job!”

“But, Sir, if she has run away I-”

The rest of Klein’s defence was cut off by a loud crash and yells from the direction of the foyer. Jacques, Willow and Whitely Schnee, as well as their butler, all turned towards the entrance to their living room in time to see security guards running past, an alarm sounding overhead.

“What in blazes-? Clementine! What is the meaning of this ruckus!”

“The White Fang have breeched the perimeter! You need to get to safety, Sir!” Then the head of security sprinted to the front of the building as Jacques paled. 

“Klein. Get Whitely and Willow to the safe room. Now!”

With a nod, the aged butler began to try to usher the two Schnees from the room. Willow, however, refused. As Jacques opened his mouth to tell her to run she shook her head, pushing Klein and Whitely to the exit. With one glance back at the two, Klein grabbed the youngest Schnee and ran, just as Clementine’s head rolled around the corner. Jacques paled even further, feeling bile rise to his throat, as two White Fang members stepped into view. The smaller one, a red-haired bull faunus, nodded his head towards the exit that Whitley and Klein had taken and drew his sword, pointing it at Jacques’ throat as he tried to block the very large, tattooed faunus from pursuing his son.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here. The CEO of the Schnee Dust Company, a slave owner who owes his millions to the faunus he exploits. My Lieutenant is going to find your other family members and kill them. I’m glad your wife is here, that saves time. My mission here today is simple: I’m going to kill your son, your daughter and your wife right here in front of you, then I’m going to kill you, then I’m going to track down your remaining daughter and finally rid the world of the Schnee scum!”

“You won’t get away with that, you filthy animal. My son and daughter are not here, it is only my wife and I, and in a few moments the Atlas Military will also be joining us due to those alarms you set off. Your _mission_ will fail.”

Even in the face of death, Jacques Schnee stood proud and strong. He would sooner die than grovel like this _animal_ wanted him to. Whitely was in the safe house with Klein, no-one had been able to find Weiss and he trusted the General to be speedy. His self-satisfaction and ease were cut short as the large faunus man returned, deposited his son and his butler on the ground before the bull faunus and announced that “the girl wasn’t with them”. 

“Well, find her then! She’s here somewhere!” He turned back to the, now green, CEO of the SDC. “Well, well, well. What was that about your son and daughter not being here? I don’t know about you, but he looks pretty present right now.” Adam sneered down at the trembling and crying young Schnee. “Smells like he knows what’s coming for him too. Where is your daughter?”

But Jacques didn’t respond, far too terrified for his son, his true heir, the second biggest benefit he received from marrying Willow (the first, of course, being the company he gained) and as the silence stretched, he noticed the bull faunus becoming irritated. He began to berate them in a simmering rage.

“Honestly, I’m rather disappointed. I figured you’d put up more of a fight, but instead I get a stubborn old man about to die, an eyesore of a human woman, a bratty little boy that can’t hold his bowels, and a pathetic old servant that has sat by as you caused the suffering of millions, all while making you coffee. It’s pathetic. You’re all pathetic, and you will all pay for what you have done! The faunus won’t take this any longer! _We_ are the dominant species! _We_ are superior to you humans, and we won’t be subjugated by you pathetic creatures _any longer_! The faunus will rise up and destroy everything the humans hold dear! _We were the first and will be the last dominant species on this planet_!”

Whitely let out another fearful whimper as the bull faunus’ irritated rant grew into a bellowed roar. Jacques, for the first time in a long time, prayed that Oum would have mercy on him, on his son, that James would arrive in time. Then the Lieutenant returned and it all fell apart.

“She really isn’t here, Boss. These guys are the only ones left, all the servants have been killed, there’s only us in this room and the other members of the Fang.”

The bull faunus let out another enraged roar, stepping forward and brandishing his sword in Jacques’ face.

“Where is she!? Where are you hiding her!?”

Jacques looked into the bull’s eyes as calmly as he could, silently cursing James’ lack of haste and for the first time ever being thankful for his daughter’s disobedience, and shrugged. Honestly, he didn’t know what this would achieved, but he hoped it would keep the animal’s attention on him. That was a fruitless wish. At the gesture, Adam paused for a moment, before releasing a scream, turning on the spot and bringing his sword down to bear across Klein’s neck. The spluttering of his life being cut short was drowned out by the shriek of horror from the heir of the SDC. Outside, Jacques remained unmoved, save for more paling, even as he felt a storm of emotions at the loss of his longest butler. He had never witnessed a murder first-hand before. Before he could even think to say anything more, his son was run through with the blade, right through his chest, the previous scream stopping abruptly as it became a wet choking sound. The CEO felt his breath stop alongside his heart as he watched his son’s life slowly drain from him with the stream of crimson death flowing down his chest. 

“My patience is gone for you, _Schnee_.”

He watched, shell-shocked, as the bull faunus walked up to him and the Lieutenant brought down his chainsaw across his wife’s body, bisecting her in two. How odd. That didn’t hurt far as much as the pain he was feeling at his son’s demise. It was a sharp pain, that burned a little and choked him up. Right below his ribs. Looking down, he was met with the same weapon that slaughtered his boy, sitting snugly between his ribs. He coughed up a mouth of blood, before staring deep into the mask of his killer and uttering his final words.

“You’ll never get my daughters.”

* * *

She had done it! She was finally free! She couldn’t wait to get to Mistral to see Winter, hoping that her sister would let her stay with her or, at least, help her figure something out. If she told her about what Father had done to her, Winter wouldn’t send her back, right? No matter, that was a problem to face when she landed in Mistral. Weiss hoped that it wouldn’t be too difficult to find Winter, because the last time she had been to Mistral was when she was very small, and she barely remembered much aside from it was _big_. But that was okay! The pilot had informed her that there were only a few hours left until she landed, which was a huge relief. Due to her technically not being allowed on the plane, they had to take the long (but safer) trade route to mistral, which was a six-day flight. Not only that, but the idea of seeing her sister again (and no longer being locked in her room) filled her to the brim with nervous, excited energy. So, suffice to say she was ready to be off this damned plane. Rationalising that Mistral was a big city and she may need to be on her feet for a while, Weiss decided that she would try to sleep away the final few hours of the journey. It was difficult, her anticipation making sleep feel a thousand miles away, but eventually she managed it. Her last thought was of how she would try to acquire a newspaper once in Mistral, as the freighter plane had virtually no contact to the outside world aside from the necessary basic communications. It would be good to catch up on the rest of the world.

* * *

Neither Weiss, nor the pilot, expected the security at the airport when the plane landed. The plan was for Weiss to sneak off as they were unloading, but that was made impossible by the Military presence. What was strange was it was Atlesian Military members. There weren’t many, maybe fifteen or so people, but they were positioned near all of the exits; there was no way she could leave without being spotted. Just as she was about to panic, however, she noticed a head of white hair that she immediately recognised and decided to go for it. To hell if she got in trouble, Father had abused her, surely that could absolve her of some of the problems she may have incurred by breaking the flight ban on Atlas… Pausing for a moment, Weiss reflected on how this was actually quite a terrible plan. Ruby level terrible. She shook off the painful twinge at the thought of her partner and steeled herself; she had committed to it now. Straightening herself out as much as possible, she exited the vehicle and called out to her sister.

Two similar shades of ice blue locked for a moment, before one teared up as the owner sprinted forward and collected up Weiss in her arms, holding her close. Confused, Weiss returned the contact, only to freeze up as her sister choked out “I’m so glad you’re safe”. Something was wrong; Winter was never so brazen to her, especially in front of her troops, so what was going on? Deciding there was no need to beat around the bush, she asked.

“What do you mean? Haven’t you heard?”

At Weiss’ blank look, Winter’s already despondent face became dismal.

“Weiss… I’m so sorry. I-” a deep sigh, “Father, Mother and Whitely have all been killed, as well as all the staff at the Manor. It was assumed you were dead or captured.”

The Schnee sisters had many traits in common, one of them being that they both believed being blunt and direct was the best course of action. Why waste time with verbiage when the end result was inevitable anyway? Somewhere, in the back of both of their minds, the sisters simultaneously began to despise that trait as Weiss stuttered out a sob mimicking the word ‘what’, crystal blue eyes already filling with tears. The now youngest Schnee couldn’t even begin to process the maelstrom of emotions beginning to swirl through her, her sister continuing to try to get through this as quickly as possible.

“The White Fang attacked the Manor. They slaughtered them all and left a message, saying they had kidnapped you and planned to make you pay for ‘the sins of your family’. They said they would be coming for me next, which is why there are so many soldiers with me. I didn’t believe them, I knew you wouldn’t be captured, you’d rather die. And I thought- no, I hoped, I prayed- that you had escaped, that they didn’t want to admit they had lost you, and that you would try to find me. And here you are. My baby sister, safe.”

Both Schnees were crying freely now, even as Weiss shook her head.

“I didn’t even know that this had happened. I left the Manor six days ago, because Father hit me and locked me in my room. Klein helped me escape. I- Oh God, I-”

She dissolved into tears, curling into her sister’s tight embrace. They were the only two left. It was hard to understand; they were the last of their family. She may have despised her Father for all he had done, but he was still her Father. And her Mother and Brother? Her Mother was only guilty of loving a man who didn’t love her back, her Brother guilty only of being that man’s son. Now it was just her, she and her sister were the only ones left. And Klein… A particularly vicious sob was torn from her as she thought of him, the only true father-figure she had ever had. And why was he murdered? Simply because he was there? Because he was human? She didn’t, and would probably never, know. Had she been there could she have done something? Maybe she could have saved her family had she not been selfish and ran away.

“No.” Winter’s voice was steady, even and cut through the fog building in her mind. “You couldn’t have done a damn thing, Weiss. The White Fang took seven hundred soldiers with them. If you had been there you would be dead too.”

Weiss hadn’t even realised she had spoken aloud, but, despite her sorrow, knew her sister was right. She would have died and left Winter all on her own. 

The two simply held each other in silence after that, both clutching the other as if they were their last lifeline in an ocean that was trying to drown them. Perhaps, in a way, that was true.

* * *

_**Present Day** _

“-eiss. Weiss! Hey, Weiss!”

The alabaster-haired woman jumped at the sudden contact, as a warm hand rested on her shoulder. Turning, she gazed into concerned silver eyes. The campfire crackled in front of her and in the flames she saw the newspaper articles, detailing the gruesome murder of her family. One particularly distasteful article shot to the forefront of her mind, a White-Fang-sympathiser run newspaper that had published photographs of her family’s corpses. She shuddered subtly, turning away from the flickering, but leaning slightly into her partner. She dared not acknowledge the newly settled silence from the other half of their team, nor did she try to allow the thoughts that haunted her upon finding the newspaper attack her now. It was in the past. Sure, she couldn’t ‘unsee’ her mother’s body, hacked in half by the very man who tried to kill her on that train way back when Vale was first breached, but she could forbid herself from dwelling on it. Besides, she saw to it personally that the man was put in the ground himself, and unlike the barbarian, she didn’t do it in such a gruesome and unnecessary way. Ruby’s gentle nudging brought Weiss back to the present once more.

“Do you wanna talk about that, or do you just want a hug?”

Looking at Ruby, Weiss couldn’t help but feel gratitude, displaying it in the form of a small smile. She leaned more into the younger girl, and Ruby took her cue, gathering up Weiss in her arms, running a hand from the top of her head, through her hair and down her back in a soothing gesture. Her other arm was wrapped snugly around Weiss’ waist and, not for the first time, Weiss wondered why they never spoke of the thing between them. She was sure that Ruby must feel it too, for her partner was not _that_ dense. The subtle touches, murmured words, unyielding support, all of those things meant something to Weiss. Even now, Ruby had gathered her up in her arms, sensing her discomfort and trying to help make Weiss feel better. Surely, her red-caped leader could _feel_ it. Her head, still half swimming in the memories of the past, pulled her reunion with Ruby to the front of her mind. They had talked for hours that felt like seconds and as they realised the time they had decided to go to bed. Blushing lightly, Weiss recalled how they had leant in almost imperceivably towards each other, but a knock on the door shattered the spell. Winter had poked her head in to check on Weiss, and while the younger Schnee could understand why, it exasperated her to no end. Perhaps, if they hadn’t been interrupted, they could be in a very different situation right now. At first, they didn’t talk about what almost happened, Weiss through cowardice and Oum knows why for Ruby, but when the ex-heiress finally plucked up the courage Ruby got captured and everything went to hell. 

With a sigh and some reluctance, Weiss pulled herself out of Ruby’s warm embrace. Much as she wanted to stay there forever, she knew she couldn’t torture herself like this. The time had passed, she had missed her chance, she would never capture her partner’s heart. Blake and Yang had started up a conversation once more and Weiss used that fact to cover her sudden desire for space, even as her heart strained at the thinly-masked hurt on Ruby’s face.

“-and I think that it was pretty awesome you took out that Beringel on your own, Blake! Your fighting style doesn’t compliment those Grimm well, so that was super badass!”

Due to her own over-enthusiasm, Yang missed the beautiful blush that coated Blake’s face at the praise. Smirking slightly, Weiss, not for the first time in her life, realised that she and Blake were two sides of the same coin. It seemed Ruby had noticed the reaction too as she subtly bumped Weiss and raised her eyebrows suggestively, a small smile tugging at her lips. Weiss fought valiantly with the laughter she wanted to release and succeeded in forcing it into a slight, silent chuckle behind a pale hand. Then Ruby’s arm slid across her lower back, harmless really, and all of her longing and sadness from moments before flooded back. With a quiet clearing of her throat, Weiss stood and turned to the team.

“I’ll do the first watch. You should all get some sleep, we have a lot of ground to cover. Blake is up after me for the late-night watch tonight, right Ruby?” 

Weiss barely caught her partner’s stilted and concerned nod before she turned away from the fire, completely missing the concerned looks being sent her way by the rest of Team RWBY. The Schnee simply needed some time to process on her own, away from everyone else, and the time she would be on watch would be perfect for that. Once she had sorted her head, things would be safer; her pining for Ruby and her reminiscing on the demise of most of her family put her and the rest of the team at risk. They couldn’t afford to be daydreaming out here. 

And daydreaming it was, for Weiss had completely missed her chance with Ruby anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Some backstory for a few PTSD things I'll be exploring in the future with Weiss in this fic. Also I just kinda called Weiss' mum Willow, 'cause that seems to be the accepted name for her in the fandom and I didn't want to do that whole beginning bit referring to her as 'Weiss' mum'. Anyway, let me know in the comments how you felt about this chapter, your feedback means a lot, and it helps me improve my work for you (because I am not an English student, I'm a Physics student so all of my work is based off of the few things I can remember from high school English which was like 4 years ago). 
> 
> Check out my tumblr: https://fandom-trash98.tumblr.com/  
> Buy me a ko-fi (if you want to): https://ko-fi.com/fandomtrashfics
> 
> That's all for now, I think. Please leave a kudos and a comment if you enjoyed! I'll see you next week (probably with a BA chapter).

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I still stand by what I said, the next Beacon Academy chapter will be out soon, within the next couple of days, I just really had to write this. As always please leave a kudos or maybe even a review to let me know what you thought! I'll see you shortly!


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